John Skirrow Wright (1822-1880)

John Skirrow Wright, who was the President of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, created the postal order. He developed the idea in order to enable people who didn’t have bank accounts to buy goods by post.

In the 1880s and 1890s, postal orders were used throughout the British Empire. However, as time went on, and as more people had their own bank accounts, their use declined.